Michael Glueck

Multiscale 3D navigation

We present a comprehensive system for multiscale navigation of 3-dimensional scenes, and demonstrate our approach on multiscale datasets such as the Earth. Our system incorporates a novel image-based environment representation which we refer to as the cubemap. Our cubemap allows consistent navigation at various scales, as well as real-time collision detection without pre-computation or prior knowledge of geometric structure. The cubemap is used to improve upon previous work on proximal object inspection (HoverCam), and we present an additional interaction technique for navigation which we call look-and-fly. We believe that our approach to the navigation of multiscale 3D environments offers greater flexibility and ease of use than mainstream applications such as Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth, and we demonstrate our results with this system.

Modeling and Simulation of Skeletal Muscle for Computer Graphics: A Survey

Muscles provide physiological functions to drive body movement and anatomically characterize body shape, making them a crucial component of modeling animated human figures. Substantial effort has been devoted to developing computational models of muscles for the purpose of increasing realism and accuracy in computer graphics and biomechanics. We survey various approaches to model and simulate muscles both morphologically and functionally. Modeling the realistic morphology of muscle requires that muscle deformation be accurately depicted. To this end, several methodologies are presented, including geometrically-based, physically-based, and data-driven approaches. On the other hand, the simulation of physiological muscle functions aims to identify the biomechanical controls responsible for realistic human motion. Estimating these muscle controls has been pursued through static and dynamic simulations. We review and discuss all these approaches, and conclude with suggestions for future research.

Multiscale 3D reference visualization

Reference grids are commonly used in design software to help users judge distances and understand the orientation of the virtual workspace. Despite their ubiquity in 3D graphics applications, little research has gone into important design considerations of the 3D reference grids themselves, which directly impact their usefulness. We have developed two new techniques; the multiscale reference grid and position pegs that form a consistent foundation for presenting relative scale and position information to the user. Our design of a multiscale reference grid consistently subdivides and coalesces gridlines, based on the computation of a closeness metric, while ensuring that there are neither too many nor too few subdivisions. Position pegs extend the grid so that objects that are lying above or below the ground plane can be brought into a common environmental frame of reference without interfering with the grid or object data. We provide a stable analytic viewpoint-determined result, solving several depth cue problems, that is independent of viewing projection.

210 King Street: a dataset for integrated performance assessment

This paper presents a Building Information Modeling (BIM) re-creation of a designated heritage building located in Toronto, Canada. By taking advantage of BIM as a centralized database, which describes both geometric and semantic aspects of a building, this model can be leveraged as a source of input for many forms of analysis. In addition to the BIM model, we present a comprehensive point cloud dataset gathered using terrestrial laser scanning technology. Based on an existing and a living building, this model is an ideal candidate for simulations that can be cross referenced with information gathered on-site.

The Effect of Visual Appearance on the Performance of Continuous Sliders and Visual Analogue Scales

Sliders and Visual Analogue Scales (VASs) are input mechanisms which allow users to specify a value within a predefined range. At a minimum, sliders and VASs typically consist of a line with the extreme values labeled. Additional decorations such as labels and tick marks can be added to give information about the gradations along the scale and allow for more precise and repeatable selections. There is a rich history of research about the effect of labelling in discrete scales (i.e., Likert scales), however the effect of decorations on continuous scales has not been rigorously explored. In this paper we perform a 2,000 user, 250,000 trial online experiment to study the effects of slider appearance, and find that decorations along the slider considerably bias the distribution of responses received. Using two separate experimental tasks, the trade-offs between bias, accuracy, and speed-of-use are explored and design recommendations for optimal slider implementations are proposed.

Benefits of visualization in the Mammography Problem

Trying to make a decision between two outcomes, when there is some level of uncertainty, is inherently difficult because it involves probabilistic reasoning. Previous studies have shown that most people do not correctly apply Bayesian inference to solve probabilistic problems for decision making under uncertainty. In an effort to improve decision making with Bayesian problems, previous work has studied supplementing the textual description of problems with visualizations, such as graphs and charts. However, results have been varied and generally indicate that visualization is not an effective technique. As these studies were performed over many years with a variety of goals and experimental conditions, we sought to re-evaluate the use of visualization as an aid in solving Bayesian problems. Many of these studies used the classic Mammography Problem with visualizations portraying the problem structure, the quantities involved, or the nested-set relations of the populations involved. We selected three representative visualizations from this work and developed two hybrid visualizations, combining structure types and frequency with structure. We also included a text-only baseline condition and a text-legend condition where all nested-set problem values were given to eliminate the need for participants to estimate or calculate values. Seven hundred participants evaluated these seven conditions on the classic Mammography Problem in a crowdsourcing system, where micro-interaction data was collected from the participants. Our analysis of the user input and of the results indicates that participants made use of the visualizations but that the visualizations did not help participants to perform more accurately. Overall, static visualizations do not seem to aid a majority of people in solving the Mammography Problem. Graphical abstractDisplay Omitted HighlightsWe evaluate the use of visualization as an aid in solving Bayesian problems.We propose comparability criteria for consistency in visualization design.We created a design space including existing and novel visualizations.700 participants evaluated 7 different visualizations of the Mammography Problem.Participants made use of the visualizations but they did not improve performance.

PhenoBlocks: Phenotype Comparison Visualizations

The differential diagnosis of hereditary disorders is a challenging task for clinicians due to the heterogeneity of phenotypes that can be observed in patients. Existing clinical tools are often text-based and do not emphasize consistency, completeness, or granularity of phenotype reporting. This can impede clinical diagnosis and limit their utility to genetics researchers. Herein, we present PhenoBlocks, a novel visual analytics tool that supports the comparison of phenotypes between patients, or between a patient and the hallmark features of a disorder. An informal evaluation of PhenoBlocks with expert clinicians suggested that the visualization effectively guides the process of differential diagnosis and could reinforce the importance of complete, granular phenotypic reporting.

Exploring the design space of multiscale 3D orientation

Recently, research in 3D computer graphics and interaction has started to move beyond the narrow domain of single object authoring and inspection, and has begun to consider complex multiscale objects and environments. This generalization of problem scope calls for more general solutions, which are more akin to information visualization techniques than traditional computer graphics approaches. We consider the general problem of the users understanding of their position and orientation within a multiscale 3D scene and propose a classification of the design space. To ground this theoretical discussion, we present initial explorations into grouping techniques, visualizations, and interactions to facilitate multiscale 3D orientation.

A natural history study of X-linked myotubular myopathy

Objective: To define the natural history of X-linked myotubular myopathy (MTM). Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study that included an online survey (n = 35) and a prospective, 1-year longitudinal investigation using a phone survey (n = 33). Results: We ascertained data from 50 male patients with MTM and performed longitudinal assessments on 33 affected individuals. Consistent with existing knowledge, we found that MTM is a disorder associated with extensive morbidities, including wheelchair (86.7% nonambulant) and ventilator (75% requiring >16 hours of support) dependence. However, unlike previous reports and despite the high burden of disease, mortality was lower than anticipated (approximate rate 10%/y). Seventy-six percent of patients with MTM enrolled (mean age 10 years 11 months) were alive at the end of the study. Nearly all deaths in the study were associated with respiratory failure. In addition, the disease course was more stable than expected, with few adverse events reported during the prospective survey. Few non–muscle-related morbidities were identified, although an unexpectedly high incidence of learning disability (43%) was noted. Conversely, MTM was associated with substantial burdens on patient and caregiver daily living, reflected by missed days of school and lost workdays. Conclusions: MTM is one of the most severe neuromuscular disorders, with affected individuals requiring extensive mechanical interventions for survival. However, among study participants, the disease course was more stable than predicted, with more individuals surviving infancy and early childhood. These data reflect the disease burden of MTM but offer hope in terms of future therapeutic intervention.

Dive in!: enabling progressive loading for real-time navigation of data visualizations

We introduce Splash, a framework reducing development overhead for both data curators and visualization developers of client-server visualization systems. Splash streamlines the process of creating a multiple level-of-detail version of the data and facilitates progressive data download, thereby enabling real-time, on-demand navigation with existing visualization toolkits. As a result, system responsiveness is increased and the user experience is improved. We demonstrate the benefit of progressive loading for user interaction on slower networks. Additionally, case study evaluations of Splash with real-world data curators suggest that Splash supports iterative refinement of visualizations and promotes the use of exploratory data analysis.